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British National Beehives


Based in a small workshop in Tideswell in the Peak District we make Highest Quality British National Beehives out of 1st grade American Western Red Cedar or High Quality Red Deal according to the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) Modified National Hive Plans. Everything we sell we make here in the Peak District. We also stock other items of Beekeeping Supplies including Frames, Foundation Wax and Hive Tools. The driving forces behind peak-hives.co.uk are sustainability and quality workmanship. Sustainability because, well it matters quite a bit we think and quality workmanship because customer satisfaction is paramount.



Cedar Scarcity.

Unfortunately building materials are extremely scarce at the moment and pricing is highly volatile. This goes for Western Red Cedar too. I have decided that until the market settles down I will not be making up any Cedar hives or hive parts. We'll be back in operation once the supply issues have been resolved. Many thanks.

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Want to see your National Hive being made? Here's what's going on in the workshop right now. The image is updated every 10 minutes during working hours. Click to see full size...

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The rest of the centre column is an ongoing blog of what's new at peak-hives.co.uk and other items of interest...veg garden...renewables etc, but please don't let reading about the allotment distract you from placing your order...:-)




Peach Blossom

Not directly bee related I know but I do like to put a thing or two about our allotment and polytunnel in the blog every now and then. Peach trees blossom very early in the year even before they get leaves and before bees and other pollinating insects are around. So, a tickle with a sable paint brush around all the flowers is the way to spread the pollen and hopefully get a good crop. This is the second year for our peach trees in the polytunnel and they are doing superbly. Last year even though they were only planted the Autumn/Winter before they produced several of the most juicy and surprisingly large and tasty fruit. This year the trees are covered in blossom so it looks like we might be in for a bumper crop.

Peach Blossom

Peach Blossom

We’re very busy as usual at this time of year and have sent many Cedar National Hives out to customers. It’s very gratifying to see so many repeat customers. We’ve also sent several of our hives to Europe. Last week a Peak Hives Top Bar Hive found it’s way to the Mosel Region of Germany.  Our 6 Frame plus a Dummy Board Nucleus Hives are also selling well…must remember to put up the prices…;-)

Gearing up…

For the growing season 2014!  The Polytunnel is now up and running after a lot of hard graft.  54 feet by 14 feet so lots of room to grow in.  Apart from the usual toms, cukes, strawberries and peppers the plan is to propagate bee friendly plants for sale through the Peak Hives website.  I’ve started off with Cotoneaster which are now coming on nicely.  We’ve got 8 raised beds each 8ft by 4ft and a couple of smaller ones for the children to learn a bit of horticulture.  One worry is it’s near to our apiary so I’m hoping we don’t have problems with bees getting caught inside.

Peak Hives Polytunnel

Peak Hives Polytunnel

Here’s a picture of recent products coming out of the workshop.  A couple of our popular 6 Frame plus a Dummy Board National Nucleus Hives in Western Red Cedar.  The customer asked for extra height on the stands and also ordered Nucleus Hives sized queen excluders and supers.   We’re getting busier and busier now that the weather seems to be picking up and I’ll probably have to change the turnaround time soon.

Two Nucleus Hives

Two Nucleus Hives

A Cubic Metre of Cedar

Last order of raw materials for National Hive manufacture this season.  One Cubic Metre of Canadian Western Red Cedar.

A Cubic Metre of Cedar

A Cubic Metre of Cedar

Together with what’s already in the store we should have enough for our National Hive and Nucleus Hive orders up to Christmas.  It means I can spend a bit of time at the end of each day out of the workshop on other projects and the current job is erecting our polytunnel.  54 feet by 14 feet with double doors at either end.  Should be just what we need to extend the growing season up here in the Peak District.  Apart from Strawberries etc we will also be using it to start a micro nursery of bee friendly plants.  I’ve an extensive list of plants sent us by the British Beekeepers Association and need to decide on a couple of dozen which are not too difficult to propagate to get started.

Swarm

Got a call today from one of the local Youth Hostels.  They have a healthy colony that for some years has resided in a roof and it had swarmed.  Nick, the manager, called and asked if I could capture the swarm as he was concerned about the youngsters in the hostel.

As quick as I could I got together all the requisite National Hive items and donned my bee suit and headed down there.  Lovely swarm of bees hanging in a tree bough at chest height that was easily pulled down into the hive and snipped off with secateurs.  New colony for our apiary!!!  Tomorrow I’ll be off down to the apiary to put a feeder on and open up the entrance.  With a bit of luck and sugar they’ll build up for the winter and won’t be ‘chasers’.  Last swarm we had were chasing me out of the veg garden.

France hols (2 weeks) beckons and after a busy season we’re all ready for a break.

Tideswell Dale Honey

Now we have a printer that’s working I’ve finally printed up some labels for our Tideswell Dale Honey.  It’s a simple affair and doesn’t precisely conform to the honey labelling regulations etc but we’re only going to sell around 60 of these jars locally.

Tideswell Dale Honey

Tideswell Dale Honey

Fitting National Hive Metal Rails for Top and Bottom Bee Space

Hi.  Answering a few queries I’ve had about fitting metalwork to National Hive Brood Boxes and Supers here’s a quick and simple guide to correctly fitting metal rails to the woodwork.  The image is more or less self explanatory but the essence of the procedure is to turn the brood/super upside down and place some sized bits of timber (10mm for bottom bee space and 18mm for top bee space) under the metal runner to give the correct gap.  The metal runner just rests on top of the wooden spacers while you pin it into place.  Once done you are guaranteed the correct chosen bee space.

Bee Space Spacers

Bee Space Spacers

Time to squeeze in an allotment update…

Spring is finally here in the Peak District so here’s a photo (panorama of four photos stitched together) of where I’m currently up to.

Lots of red onions because my partner Adriana is from Peru and they’re used widely in Peruvian cooking.  A new area for soft fruit (Blackcurrants, more Rhubarb, Autumn and Summer Raspberries, Redcurrants, various varieties of Gooseberries and more…) replacing a nettle patch that discouraged the family from venturing down to do some weeding/fettling.

Prior to this year the plot had been one area with treaded down paths every 4 feet or so and nettles all round. I was given some weatherproof boards back end of last year and slowly started making up the raised beds in the picture.

On the far right there’s one high raised bed which will be followed by three more of which two will be given to the kids to grow what they will and two will be used for root veg or spuds.

Mi Corazon!

Amor Mio!

The panorama is perhaps a future bees eye view as I’ve taken the photos from where I’m planning on putting my two Apis Mellifera Mellifera colonies that I have coming in a few weeks.

Flat Pack National Hives picked up from the Workshop

Hi.  Rich came up on Wednesday to the Peak Hives workshop and picked up his flat packed national hives.  Was good to see him again and Steve who came along too.  Rich is an experienced beekeeper so by agreement (and the fact that they wouldn’t fit into his car otherwise) I didn’t seperate them out into individual units.

Here’s the kit he took…

Flat Packed National Hives

Rich's Hives

I’m getting plenty of enquiries about making up batches of frames and will endeavour to have a go this weekend (I do have to make a special meal for the oldies though on Saturday as it’s their golden wedding anniversary).  The other thing that I need to respond to is enquiries about ‘top bee space’ national hives.  It’s technically sorted but I want to have a go at machining some up before offering it as an option.  Coming soon, probably tomorrow.

Allotment news is that I made some space this afternoon for another fruit tree in the garden…it’s getting tight on space and I’ve another two trees to plant.  I wonder if the farmer who owns the field across the road would mind.

All the best and as usual, happy beekeeping 2010!

British National Hive in Red Deal

Now that the big freeze is over (at least for the moment it looks that way) we’re back in production.  Here’s a British National Hive with 2 Supers in Red Deal.

British National Hive in Red Deal

British National Hive in Red Deal

Here’s to a successful beekeeping 2010.  I’m long overdue to start frame making and I’m compiling a list of potential customers for DN4, SN1 etc.  Hopefully I’ll be able to get that thin kerf blade in use soon…

Allotment news is that I’ve just planted 2 out of 6 trees supplied by Rogers of Pickering.  1 Bramleys Seedling and 1 Spartan apple (recommended by Carl with thanks).  I’ve a couple of pear trees to plant next (Buerre Hardy and Conference) and 20 odd raspberry canes along with some plum trees and gooseberry bushes.  When we moved here as a family in the early 60s all these things were here and producing fruit.  Somehow they’ve been left to grow old and wither…(I blame the supermarkets..grrr).  With some luck and cultivation we’ll be back to picking our own fruit in a couple of seasons…